> Not really. There are lots of actions that have negative externalities and which we choose to treat differently. E.g., consider drug abuse, financial fraud, v

> Not really. There are lots of actions that have negative externalities and which we choose to treat differently. E.g., consider drug abuse, financial fraud, violent crime. We do not attenuate the incidence rate of these behaviors using the tax code. I'm specifically talking about directing behaviours that remain legal. I don't expect governments around the world are gonna ban the F-150. As for things like cap and trade, you're right, that's an alternative mechanism. At bottom it's the same, though: assign an economic cost to the behaviour, and then use the market system to manage the behaviour. Still, your point is well taken!